Creating Clarity, Enabling Success Know+Do publishes Think Papers sharing practical tools and knowledge that busy leaders and managers can apply in their workplace. We specialise in creating great teams for our clients and enhancing their success through high quality business coaching. For more information on Know+Do’s services and resources view www.knowanddo.com or contact info@knowanddo.com UK 0161 280 4567 Success is Not a Best Guess Paper 4. Series 6: Motivation & Communication A key question we ask leaders of a business when assessing their company is ‘How do you know you are successful?’ A private company might declare their cash in the bank as a marker of success. A publicly listed company could show its dividends. A public agency could show its quality of service. A charity might share case stories of those it is helping. These can all be helpful measures but we like to delve a little deeper to test the substance behind the statements. Last year, we asked one particular senior management team how they measure success. They gladly shared with us several reports, documents and spreadsheets, all of which were detailed and carefully put together. Taken as a whole though we were confused; there was so much information that it was hard to identify the key measures and spot risks or opportunities. Their meetings were long, communication with the Board was complex, and frequently they found themselves chasing data for yet another report rather than planning strategy. They had fallen into a trap; their operational needs had over-taken their management requirements. Though they led a business with several departments and multiple services, their management data was far too complex. As a result, success was an elusive subject. To highjack the late, great Eric Morecambe’s riposte to world-famous conductor André Previn, “They were looking at all the right information, just not necessarily in the right order!”1 There is a well-known phrase in management, “what gets measured, gets done”, and it is true that just because something is measured it does not mean the information provided is useful, the best available nor will it be acted upon. Those that remember the New Labour years of UK Government also know that measurement was a mantra of this administration. National indicators, frameworks, KPIs, progress measures, outcomes, etc. abounded. Anecdotal experience showed that many departments, organisations and teams got very good at measuring data to provide the ‘right’ evidence not necessarily the best evidence. So, choosing the right measures is crucial. For companies and organisations prioritising what is measured is a way of ensuring effective and efficient processes. Going back to our recent client’s needs, we adopted a clear approach to every 1 For those too young to understand the reference, I suggest you search online for the video of Morecambe and Wise with Andre Previn Grieg's Piano Concerto www.knowanddo.com Creating Clarity, Enabling Success manager and director we spoke to, asking them this question: What are the three ways you would measure the success of this business? This provoked a heated debate at times but in a few short meetings we forced the client to clarify what knowledge the senior team needed to act in a sufficient operational and strategic capacity. From that decision one document was devised to measure progress, prioritise resources and define success; this improved communication between the managers and directors, it also clarified performance management which aided in the motivation of all staff. If your senior team is over-whelmed by a mountain of data and reports, you need to ask how effective the leadership of the business can be in such a scenario. Is time being wasted clarifying data or dealing with confusion? A way of responding in this situation is to ask three core questions of your business: 1st. What MUST we do? 2nd. What SHOULD we be doing? 3rd. What COULD we do if we had the time? Everything a company does can be allocated to one of these three questions. For instance: A company MUST pay its taxes on time and correctly, it is a legal requirement, thus the internal mechanisms to do this would be a paramount priority An organisation SHOULD treat its staff with dignity and respect – it is not a legal requirement but a moral one A business COULD give a percentage of its profits away to good causes; this is normally a choice that is in addition to the main purpose of a business2 For every business the must, should or could questions will provoke different answers. The service, product, industry, sector, location, structure, culture and values of a business determine the factors at play. If these questions are asked within a company, they provide a key insight into the perspective and priorities of all those involved. “One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” Grace Hopper For one small business we assisted a few years ago the staff team placed everything in the MUST box – everything they did was vital. Yet when pushed the management team could begin to divide the business priorities. This showed the gulf in expectation and communication within the business; it highlighted how they needed to work smarter and together to turn the business around. Another way of looking at the three questions is to slightly alter the language and ask: What would we be fired for if we did not do it? The answer to this question becomes the “MUST DO’s” for a company and those employed by it. This allows an assessment of priorities on different levels: 2 There are many ways of doing this optional deed for businesses, one way is found at https://onepercentfortheplanet.org www.knowanddo.com Creating Clarity, Enabling Success i. What MUST the business do? What is / are the core drivers for the business? If it is a service how does it provide the service to maintain its quality and margins? If it is a product, how can it make and sell in the most effective and efficient manner? ii. What MUST the departments / teams do? Most businesses break down functions into departments or teams, so how does each unit contribute to the MUST do’s of the business? iii. What MUST individuals do? Every team is made up of individuals with contracted roles and responsibilities? So, what has each person agreed to do in order to make their team contribute more effectively to the wider business goals? Great leaders help focus a business on core aims. By doing so they develop a small set (or sometimes lone description) that shows the MUST be done priorities for a business. The managers, teams and workforce can then be aligned to the over-arching need. For example: Dame Mary Marsh led the NSPCC several years ago and made the mission clear with the words “Stop Child Cruelty”, everyone’s performance in the charity was defined by this phrase from the cleaners to the CEO. Charles Wilson became CEO of Bookers PLC and made it clear that as huge as the billionpound business was, it was first a foremost a Grocers. So every staff member of all responsibilities had to talk to 20 customers every week to keep decisions grounded, to ensure that the reality of customers spending money in their stores was ‘king’. For my colleagues and I at Know+Do, our mission as a business is clear: to develop knowledge and apply it effectively. Everything we do – whether that is performance coaching, management training, public speaking, writing or facilitation of meetings - has to have that principle; if our services do not uphold that approach we will not create clarity for our clients nor will we be supporting them to achieve success. These examples show how an over-arching framework helps prioritise actions and improves measurement in business. The key metrics chosen must help demonstrate and advance the core principles of the businesses. It is easy to look back at data and information to group it into reports that provide knowledge about what has been done. Leaders of businesses that know their own must do’s will be able to use the knowledge gathered to plan for the future, i.e. to create wisdom. So, for your organisation, what are the must, should or could do’s? What is measured in your business and is it effective? Can you understand the priorities of the company and how it is progressing? Try the exercise overleaf out on your team and see if they have the same perspective. If you do fantastic, you can refine your reporting and advance the business. If not, then it’s fantastic as well, you now have a starting point to re-align your efforts and a tool to improve what you measure and where success will come from! We welcome comments and feedback on how you use or share the Think Papers – you can contact the author (Bernard Clarke) via info@knowanddo.com, call (0161) 280 4567 or @berneeclarke www.knowanddo.com Creating Clarity, Enabling Success Exercise - What Are Your Priorities? Ask each person on your team (including yourself) to note 3 to 5 answers for each column below. Completing the task without taking too long to plan or prepare shows the current priorities of each person, it demonstrates the issues most prevalent in their mind. YOUR ROLE YOUR TEAM / DEPARTMENT THE BUSINESS MUST COULD SHOULD 1. 1. 1. 2. 2. 2. 3. 3. 3. 4. 4. 4. 5. 5. 5. 1. 1. 1. 2. 2. 2. 3. 3. 3. 4. 4. 4. 5. 5. 5. 1. 1. 1. 2. 2. 2. 3. 3. 3. 4. 4. 4. 5. 5. 5. Once each person has completed the task, pool the answers and using open questions discuss any areas of difference or clarify views that align. Remember to clarify individual definitions and expectations. From working as a team, you can then set clear actions and measure your success. If you would like to discuss the planning of this exercise in more detail, call Know+Do on 0161 2804567 or email info@knowanddo.com www.knowanddo.com